Page 68 of Devastation
My head jerks back as I try to make sense of her words.
Her boots click against the ground as she walks forward, her long black skirt trailing behind her. Her black and red hair is flowing in long waves around her and she flicks one side behind her, putting her ample cleavage on display and exposing the leather bralette that strains to hold said cleavage.
She’s on the wrong side of this war, and I want to curse her for that. And for looking so bad ass, because, damn it she looks great.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask, wanting to buy us time while Serenity gathers our forces.
We just need to hold out until the cavalry arrives.
It also gives me a few moments to inspect my weak tether to her, which I'm completely baffled by.
Why is my soul still choosing her? Is my evil villain radar broken?
She gives in, deciding to enlighten me further as she comes to a stand still, only about ten feet away from me now. The flames in the vats cast a glow against her face, allowing me to fully make out her facial expressions as she talks.
"I grew up in this realm as you know, thinking I was a princess to the rulers here," she explains, telling me information I already know.
I try to mentally yank the tether from her but it doesn't budge an inch, and I hold back my growl of frustration as she continues.
"It turns out I'm actually the princess of darkness. My father came for me and told me how my mother hid me from him here where I would blend in with the demons."
Bewilderment crosses my face. Hidden here? They weren't her actual parents?
She places a long finger ending with a pointy black manicure against her lip and taps like she's thinking. "You know my real parents. Erebus and Nyx."
My jaw hangs open. She's a full-fledged goddess, descended fromthosetwo?
I reel in shock, and she laughs at my obvious bafflement.
"Crazy, right? But it turns out your mom told my mom to hide me from my father, ruining my chance of having a true family."
I interject, pissed at her for implying that somehow she grew up unloved and with no family. "Give me a break, Keres. You grew up in the lap of luxury. Everything you wanted, the king and queen provided. How can you stand there and act like you had a terrible childhood? They loved you, regardless of whether they're your birth parents or not."
My heart clenches at my words, bringing Beth and her love for us into my mind.
"No!" she screams at me, anger shrouding her features. "They feared me and what I had the potential to do if I was upset and realized the truth. They did not love me. They were simply doing the job Nyx tasked them with."
A lifeless laugh bubbles out of her as her leathery black wings unfurl from her back. "How lucky she was that I was born looking like a demon from birth. I blended in perfectly and no one suspected."
"How did you find any of this out then?" I ask, confused at the timeline of the scenario.
She holds her hands out, inspecting her talons, "Erebus showed up and explained everything to me. Well, as soon as he killed the king and queen."
“No…” I answer with sadness creeping into my heart. No matter what Erebus has brainwashed her to think, they loved her. You couldn’t fake the adoration that I saw in their eyes as they doted on their daughter when I was here.
This is going to break her when she snaps out of this convoluted reality that Erebus has trapped her in.
“Yup,” she answers, popping her lips at the end. “And now it’s my turn to repay him for coming for me and telling me the truth. I’ll make my true father proud.”
Without warning, hellfire spits from her hands in my direction. However, I’m eerily calm, despite my lingering devastation at what has happened here. I flick my fingers up, and a wall of stone forms from the ground, blocking her attack with ease before fading back again.
Oddly enough, I’ve never felt more in tune with my powers and emotions.
Yes, I’m sad. I’m sad for all the lives that have been lost in this war that has been silently fought in the background for decades, maybe even centuries.
Yes, I’m mad. I’m mad at the god who thinks he has a fucking right to rule over everyone. As if he is the supreme god and that everyone must obey his every wish.
But more than anything, I'm finally realizing that I'm allowed to feel that way. I'm allowed to feel sad, and angry, and every emotion between. It doesn't make me weak. It makes me so fucking strong to accept every emotion coursing through me and choose to push through, change what I refuse to allow to happen.
